In the midst of the stress of winter quarter, the newly-established Stanford Zumba club provides students with an outlet to dance away their worries and stress-eating. The group offers biweekly classes and workshops in an aerobic fitness program inspired by various styles of Latin American dancing.
Jay Gonzalez ’20 started Stanford Zumba in the middle of fall quarter after feeling disappointed by the dance cardio recreation classes offered at Arrillaga, as well as what he described as a lack of genuine Zumba classes offered by Stanford.
Gonzalez works as a flight attendant during school breaks; he began the job during his two gap years before coming to Stanford. On the job, Gonzalez trained in and performed various Zumba techniques around the world, including in China, Russia, Thailand and Australia. Stanford Zumba’s other two instructors, Gita Krishna ’20 and Cecilia Cavelier Riccardi ’20, also have extensive dance experience.
Gonzalez said the group’s goal is to build a Zumba community that gives students a chance to increase their wellness, relieve stress and make friends. Most of the students who attend the classes have no previous experience, and the group is open to anyone. It meets twice a week on Fridays and Saturdays, in the Roble Arts Gym and Arrillaga dance studios, respectively.
Stanford Zumba has grown significantly since its inception fall quarter, and new students join each week, sometimes filling Roble Studio 113 to capacity.
Each of the Zumba instructors brings a unique style to the classes they lead, but every class includes high-energy dance moves, loud music and disco lights. The class dances to about fifteen different songs, building from a slow warm-up to fast-paced, fitness-focused dance moves that create repetitive choreography. Instructors mix up the kinds of songs they play in order to give people a break while working out.
“The greatest part about Zumba is that no one is focused on you,” Gonzalez said. “They are focused on the instructors, so you just try your best and get lost in it. Once you’ve memorized the movements, you won’t even think about it — your body will just take over.”
Students such as Izzy Jo ’20, Sofia Patino-Duque ’20, Alexandra Crew ’20 and Lilla Petruska ’20 take the class as a stress reliever and have now become self-proclaimed “Zumba enthusiasts.” They appreciate that the group is student-led and welcoming, and they love its multicultural aspect — despite the challenge of learning various dance styles, from salsa to Bollywood to samba.
“It’s very rewarding, as you go more and more, to feel like you’ve mastered a move you’ve been working on,” Jo said.
Patino-Duque added that it does not matter whether or not you are a good dancer, so long as you are present during class with the intention of having a good time.
“Zumba is a place where you can go and just forget the world, dance and leave happy,” Gonzalez said.
Contact Ellie Bowen at ebowen ‘at’ stanford.edu.